Amarantine
by Broken-and-fallen
Summary: The story of how Axel met Roxas when he first joined the Organization, how they became friends, and how they became more. AxelRoxas. Hints of RikuSora. Angst, Romance, and dry humour. RxR please.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One 

When Axel first saw the new Member, XIII, the boy had been standing in one of the worlds Axel had been sent to investigate. Saix had later told him that XIII had been observing all the members various skills, and that the Flurry of Dancing Flames was next on his list.

Axel had been casually leaning into the darkness of an alleyway, watching passing by civilians with a bored stare on his face. He had noticed a short figure standing by the ledge, wearing a familiar black coat and staring out into the ocean. He had swept blonde hair and as he turned to stare back, Axel was fixed with two intense blue eyes.

"So, you're the newbie, huh."

Axel strolled over to join XIII by the rail, the sea breeze ruffling his auburn hair. XIII glanced at him briefly, a blank look tinged slightly with annoyance.

"Member VIII." He said quietly, as if to himself. "Axel."

"Yeah, got it memorized?" Axel drawled, lazily winking one bright green eye at the boy. XIII didn't answer, instead making a slight huffing sound and then looking back at the ocean.

Axel refrained himself from rolling his eyes. Stingy.

"I've heard…" XIII said suddenly, taking his time. "That you're unpredictable. No one can really tell what side your on."

Blue eyes glanced up to the red head, noticing the distant expression.

"So, they've already spoken to you then." Axel mused, crossing his arms on the rail and leaning forward. "Do you believe them?"

"That your unpredictable?" XIII asked, raising his eyebrows, just slightly. "I don't know yet. Is that stupid?"

Axel paused, and then tossed his head back, grinning with feline teeth. XIII's eyes were drawn to VIII's hair, a shocking contrast to the pitch black of his cloak.

"That's not stupid. That's smart." Axel said, winking again. He headed off across a nearby boardwalk, booted feet crunching loudly on sand and gravel. When he reached the beach, XIII was already there waiting for him.

"Why is it smart?" he asked, only a hint of curiosity in his bland voice. Axel hummed a random tune under his breath as he crossed the stretch of sand, ducking underneath a bridge and standing just within reach of the tide, so that water rippled over his boots.

"Everyone thinks they can predict me, because I am unpredictable." He said, tipping his head back again. "Get it?"

"I understand. You think I'm smart because I haven't predicted you yet."

Axel shrugged, grinning. XIII stared for a moment.

"You're weird." He stated after a moment, and Axel grinned.

"You're boring." He countered, "And you're rude."

"Am I?" XIII asked, standing rigid on the shoreline.

"Yup."

XIII walked over to join VIII, standing with a hairs breadth between their sides. Apparently he hadn't discovered the concept of personal space yet, and Axel sidled a little away from the blonde.

"How am I rude?" XIII asked, not looking away from the gentle rising and falling of the waves.

"Well, you haven't even told me your name yet."

XIII blinked, and then shrugged.

"Roxas." He said, and then walked away from Axel, opening a dark portal. His feet crunched against the sand, littered with photos of two boys, one with silver hair and another with large blue eyes.

--

"Number XIII, Roxas."

One booted foot tapped a rhythm against his bed frame, the other swinging idly off the edge. Axel was sprawled on his four-poster bed, with his arms folded behind his head, entertaining himself by building a basic profile for the newest member of the Organization.

"Quiet, boring, serious, angry, expressionless." He pondered for a moment. "And short."

There was a steady squeaking from the room next to his and he rolled his eyes. Larxene usually got very angry or very melancholy this time of day. Today was her melancholy day. She would spend the next few hours with her knees drawn up to her chin in the rocking chair next to her bed, staring out through her window into the darkness.

Fake emotions, who needs them?

Axel snorted softly.

**We do. I guess.**

Nobody's were such sad pathetic creatures. Sighing, as the squeaking didn't seem to make any move to cease, Axel swung his legs off his bed and got to his feet, stretching his arms.

Opening a portal he stepped through it and entered the kitchens, busying himself with making an alcoholic drink he once saw someone make at Hollow Bastion. It looked tasty. It tasted tasty, too. After Axel had locked the man who made it in a nearby closet and took the drink, but the thumps hitting his shoulder blades as he had leant against the closet door kind of dampened the mood.

Still, he had tossed random books around the shop until he found the recipe, and took it back with him in case there was another day when he had nothing else to do and there were no old men and closets around to lock them in for entertainment.

Dropping some ice in the glass, Alex took a sip.

"You might not want to go sneaking around like that." He commented, "You could be attacked because you scared the shit out of someone."

Turning, he leant against the counter and took another sip, eyeing the blonde at the doorway.

"I wasn't sneaking," Roxas scowled, pushing past him and grabbing a glass. "Your just too deaf to hear me."

"Deaf enough to know you were there?" Axel pondered out loud, grinning in the way that plainly told everyone else in his general vicinity that they didn't want to try and gamble with him unless they wanted to keep their shoes.

Roxas shrugged, still frowning with permanent annoyance, and filled the glass with water.

"So, Roxas. Roxas, Roxas, Roxas…"

The blonde's eyebrow twitched as he turned to face the red head.

"**What."**

"Has anyone given you a tour yet?" Axel said lightly, drowning the last swallow of the drink and setting the empty glass on the table behind him. XIII stared at him.

"I was given a basic run down of the Organization, its role, its goal, and the positioning of rooms in this area." He said automatically and clearly, barely blinking once.

"Yeesh. If I wanted a computerized answer I would have bothered learning how to use a computer." Axel scoffed, mentally realising that that might be something to check up on.

"Someone hasn't given me a tour, no." Roxas said, his frown deepening. He left the glass unfinished on the sink and went to walk away.

"You shouldn't leave a glass half full." Axel commented, tipping his head slightly to look accusingly at Roxas under lowered lashes. The blonde paused, and then shrugged again.

"It's half empty." He said, and left the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

When Axel was bored he used to burn things. He wasn't a pyromaniac or anything; he just was fascinated by fire, fascinated by its burn. It meant something to him to see that something he did affected something else.

Right now he was burning one of Xigbar's cloaks.

"Don't you have anything better to do than stare at me all day?" he called over his shoulder, not taking his eyes away from the rapidly disappearing fabric. Roxas appeared at his shoulder and sat next to him, also watching the blaze.

"No." he said.

Axel waited for the boy to say something else, but when it appeared Roxas was content being silent, he resumed watching the fire.

"Why are you burning his coat?" Roxas asked suddenly. Axel shrugged.

"Why are you watching it?" he replied, turning slightly to look at Roxas.

"I'm not sure," XIII replied truthfully. "Maybe it's the same reason you are?"

--

It didn't take Axel very long to notice that Roxas was hanging around with him a lot more often. He would be investigating a world and turn a corner and there he was. Roxas usually didn't ignite conversation or attempt to make contact with Axel, but he was there nonetheless. He noticed that Roxas liked the ocean. Whenever Axel visited **that** island Roxas would be there. Most of the time the blonde would be sitting on a smaller part of the island that was joined to the main landform by a bridge, or lying on his back and staring up at the sky.

Roxas liked the ocean so much; Axel decided to bring it up one day. He had been idly making a drink again when he heard noises from the training arena outside the window. Having nothing else to do and not being able to find where Xigbar had hidden his cloaks, Axel went to investigate.

XIII was practicing with his weapon, the Keyblade, against some simulated Nobody dummies. His movements were quick, simple, and efficient. Axel sipped his drink and waited until Roxas was finished.

"You like the ocean." He commented, as the blonde was passing by him. Roxas turned with a raised eyebrow.  
"No I don't."

"Yes you do." Axel replied, a smirk on his face.

Roxas blinked at him, as if considering, and then shrugged.

"Maybe." He muttered, and started walking away. Axel jumped off his perch on the concrete pillar and took a few long strides to catch up to the boy.

"Have you ever been swimming?" he asked casually, ignoring the door that Roxas had presently tried to slam in his face.

"No." XIII replied stiffly. Axel suddenly realised they were in the blonde's room. It wasn't what he expected. He expected it to be spotless, empty, showing no sign of anyone actually living there. In truth clothes were flung everywhere, shirts and cloaks hung over the back of chairs and it smelt of sea-salt. The bed covers were crumpled at the end of the bed and as Roxas crossed the room he tossed the Keyblade onto the carpet instead of on the table.

"Why?"

"Huh?" Axel started, turning at the question. Roxas scowled at him.

"Why did you want to know whether or not I'd been swimming before?" he asked impatiently, kicking open the door that led to the terrace. Axel grinned.

"Well, you like the ocean, right?"

"Maybe." Roxas muttered, turning his back on him.

"I'll take you swimming then." Axel strode across the room and went to grab Roxas's hand. Instead the boy stepped quickly backwards, sapphire eyes narrowing.

"Are you trying to manipulate me?" he asked suspiciously. Axel just grinned and shrugged.

"Maybe." He replied, reaching out his hand for Roxas's. "Are you gonna take that chance?"

Roxas paused, and then flung forward and grabbed Axel's hand.

--

"Why are we here?" Roxas asked almost immediately as he noticed the familiar stretch of beach and water.

"Well, you're going to go swimming, right?" Axel shrugged. "Why not here?"

"Why not somewhere else." Roxas seemed uncomfortable, and went to summon a portal. He stopped when Axel lightly punched his shoulder, and glared at him.

"Stop being stingy, you're making me irritated." Axel said, the Cheshire-cat grin on his face contradicting his words.

"Stop being annoying." Roxas replied, his glare able to melt skin. Axel didn't seem fazed, though, and gave the shorter Member a light shove towards the water.

"Geeze, go have fun before I start burning **your** cloaks." He said, and disappeared, before reappearing on the small off-island Roxas was so fond of, reclining on a Paopu tree.

"What?" Roxas shouted up to him, clenching his fists.  
"Go swim already!" Axel called back, munching on an entire Paopu fruit, by himself.

"In **what**?" Roxas yelled, stamping his foot in the sand.

"Shorts! Got it memorized?" Axel turned his back on the blonde, folding one arm behind his head and the other holding the remaining fruit he was stuffing into his mouth.

Roxas glared at him and then shrugged. Tugging off his gloves he dropped them onto the beach and then unzipped the cloak, until he was left with black pants and thigh-high boots. Pulling them off as well he took off his pants so he was bare except for a pair of soft blue boxers. Crossing his arms, he glared up at the Paopu tree.

"Like this?" he yelled upwards at the black and red figure. Axel glanced at him through lowered eyelids, intending to nod off to sleep. The eyes opened a fraction wider at the sight of Roxas standing on a beach, black discarded clothes around him, sweltering a little in the summer heat, and wearing nothing but boxers.

"I guess." Axel said loudly, and licked some paopu juice off his gloved fingers. "Now go frolic in the surf, dolphin boy."

Roxas yelled something that sounded like a profanity, and Axel smirked.

"Stupid, irritating, **clown**…" Roxas muttered, and stepped forward into the surf. Freezing water crashed over his bare feet and he shivered slightly. Frowning with determination, he took a running leap forward and jumped beneath the waves.

Axel glanced over his shoulder when he heard a shout from the water. Roxas surfaced, dripping wet and bedraggled.

"IT'S FUCKING COLD." He shouted, and then realised Axel had disappeared from the Paopu tree.

"Eck, you're right. Disgusting." Came a disgruntled voice from beside him, and Roxas slanted a glance over his shoulder at the still fully clothed redhead standing in the ocean beside him.

"You don't like cold?" Roxas asked quietly. Axel's eyes narrowed suspiciously, and didn't answer. He took one look at the feral look in the blonde's eyes, and went to summon a portal.

It took Roxas two and a half seconds to drench Axel head-to-toe in freezing water.

"You little-!" Axel went to punch the boy and then froze as he saw the smile one his face.

Roxas's eyes were sparkling slightly and he was grinning.

Axel had the sudden and strange thought that the smile didn't belong to him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

After that incident Axel and Roxas didn't meet for five days. Axel didn't miss the boy while he was gone, but - - no, it was impossible for him to think that he **felt** like he missed him. He didn't feel. Perhaps Larxene wasn't the only one with fake emotions.

After five days of aimless wandering and world investigating Axel had returned to his room in a state of boredom. Pushing open the door he was surprised to see Roxas curled up on the terrace balcony.

"You're back." He called, pulling off one of his gloves with his teeth so he could pour himself a drink without the glass slipping out of his hand. There was no reply from the black clothed figure. Raising an eyebrow Axel headed over to the terrace and froze at the open doorway, noticing a familiar red substance dripping over the edge of the balcony.

"Hey."

He lightly kicked Roxas's shoulder, but again he got no response. Kneeling, Axel pulled back the hood of XIII's cloak. He was unconscious, blonde hair stained with red and blood dribbling off his chin to gather in a pool beneath his cheek. Axel frowned.

"Guess you aren't as vigilant as they say." He muttered, and paused for a moment, deciding what to do.

He could clean the boy up and dress his wounds. But, just as easily, he could leave him to either wake up by himself or die. What did Axel care?

In the end, Axel decided to be charitable, and slung XIII into his arms bridal-style. Carrying him back to his room he opened the door to a small tiled bathroom. Dropping Roxas onto the floor he leant over the large porcelain tub and twisted the handles until the bath was filled with boiling hot water.

Kneeling down he unzipped and removed Roxas's cloak, before tugging off the skin-tight boots and gloves. The pants and boxers came next, Axel grimacing at the bloodstains on all the clothing. Picking Roxas up he laid him in the tub; careful not to crack the blonde's head open on the tap.

The water soon swirled a foggy red colour, and Axel scrubbed some dry blood off Roxas's temple. The boy's cerulean eyes slowly flickered open, and he glared slightly at Axel.

"I'm naked." He said, dangerously, but also weakly. Axel raised an eyebrow and glanced at him up and down.

"What do you know!" he said, in a fascinated tone of voice. "You **are**."

Roxas went to stand up but winced, instead collapsing backwards, resting his head back against the porcelain rim. His fingers splayed across the right of his torso, running down the ribs. On the third there was a deep wound, and Roxas applied pressure to stop the bleeding.

"I'm bleeding…" he said quietly, eyes half lidded. Axel rolled his eyes.

"Well, your just full of epiphanies today!"

All Roxas could do in his condition was glare at him, so he did, letting the boiling hot water wash the blood off his skin. Staring at him, Axel thought the situation suited the boy, drenched with water and blood, piercing blue eyes peering out from beneath his shock of blonde hair.

"So, what did you do to shit yourself up this bad?" Axel asked casually, folding his arms and leaning back against the bathroom wall. Roxas turned his gaze forward, to the tiled wall.

"I thought I could stay for a little longer, wipe out a couple more heartless." He said, frowning slightly. "Guess there was more than a couple. I could handle 'em, but something happened and there was an explosion."

He shrugged and tried to stand again but was halted by Axel's un-gloved hand pushing down on his chest, forcing him back into the water. Roxas surfaced, spluttering.

"Piss off!" he snapped, and winced, holding his chest. Axel tapped his nose.

"Well, I _could_ do that." He pondered. "But then who would help you out of this tub?"

Roxas stared at him for a moment, and then sighed with apparent defeat. His shoulders slumped and he looked away from the redhead.

"Help me out." He muttered. Axel grinned.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I don't think I heard you correctly…"

"I said **help me out**, asshole!" Roxas yelled, and splashed some of the bathwater onto Axel. The victim scowled and shook water out of his hair. Standing, he gave Roxas a look over, and then smirked.

"No."

"PRICK!" Roxas stood suddenly and his legs gave way beneath him, so that he toppled forward – onto Axel.

--

"Yo! Axel, you here?" Demyx barged into the room. "I can't find any of my freaking coats-"

His explanation was cut short as he noticed the startled Axel on the floor with the naked Roxas sprawled on top of him.

Demyx stared for a moment.

"I'll come back later…" he said, and ran as fast as he could out the door when he felt the first warmth of fire at his heels.

Axel groaned and banged his head back against the floor.

"Well done," he said scathingly. "I'm not going to be taken seriously again for the rest of my life."  
Roxas glowered down at him. "You were never taken seriously." He pointed out, and rolled off of Axel, sitting up with a wince.

"Where are my clothes?" he asked, seemingly unfazed by the awkward even which had just unfolded. Axel jumped to his feet and placed his hands on his waist.

"Wet, with blood. Because you're an idiot." He taunted, grabbing the dropped garments from the bathroom and showing the boy the stains.

"Well what the hell am I meant to wear?" Roxas asked, also placing his hands on his waist. The two had a glowering match, vaguely dampened by the fact that Axel held a handful of dripping clothes.

"You're naked." Axel suddenly pointed out, smirking. Roxas jumped, blushed, and shot to the other side of Axel's bed, crouching down and hiding himself behind the mattress.

"Screw you." He mumbled, snatching a pillow from the bed and covering himself with it. Axel shrugged and dropped the clothes to floor with a _squelch_ sound.

"If you want," he teased. "But I bite."  
"SHUT UP." Roxas yelled. Axel raised an eyebrow and folded his arms.

"You know, this is my room." He drawled. "I could kick you out into the hallway if I wanted to, _naked._"

The blonde's eyes widened, and Roxas tensed – like a cat preparing to attack.

"You wouldn't _dare_." He hissed. Axel leaned forward, grinning with sharp teeth.

"Wanna bet?"

It took a whole minute of Roxas yelling, Axel striding across the room, legs and arms flailing outward – (But at the same time trying to hold the pillow in place) – long arms scooping the smaller boy up, and a booted foot kicking the bedroom door open – before Roxas gave up.

"ALRIGHT!" He yelled, his bare legs halfway out the door so that any unfortunate Organization member walking down the hallway could only see a pair of dismembered naked legs.

"Alright," he repeated, folding his arms and keeping the pillow in place. "I surrender, okay?"

Axel made a 'thinking' face and leant against the doorframe, still holding Roxas.

"Now, I don't remember _surrender_ being an option." He pondered out loud, and was interested to see a furious pout on Roxas' face. It was cute, in an I'm-going-to-kill-you-while-you-sleep way.

Axel grinned to himself. No matter what Roxas did, no matter how serious or nonchalant he acted, he was still a kid. So that meant --

"HEY!" Roxas clung onto Axel's arm as the Flurry of Dancing Flames started swinging him forward. "I surrendered!"

Axel paused, and blinked. "So?"

"So put me down!"

"No."  
**"AXEL!"**

"No, I don't think that was an option either…"

Roxas let go of Axel's arm with one hand and aimed a fist towards his face. Axel easily dodged the attack, and made a tut-tut noise.

"That's not really a smart idea if you want me to put you down, or **drop you**." He added dangerously, and Roxas flinched. He wouldn't like to admit it out loud, but Axel was **tall** and he was, well… **not**. Plus, the injuries he already had, (The wound near his rib was _still _bleeding, damnit.) would hurt worse if he were to be dropped from this height.

"Would you put me down?" He asked through gritted teeth. Axel grinned.

"Say the magic word…" he teased. Unfortunately for him Roxas didn't know it, so he guessed.

"Avadacadabra?"

Axel blinked, and sighed. "Good enough."

He lowered Roxas back onto the ground, trying not to laugh at the sight of Roxas trying to cover himself with a pillow. Shutting the bedroom door he noticed the boy had shuffled his way over to one of the cabinets, searching through the clothes inside.

"What do you think you're doing?" Axel asked, folding his arms. Roxas threw a glare over his shoulder at him.

"Getting some dry clothes," he made a face. "_Got it memorized?_"

Axel rolled his eyes.

"That was a bad imitation, but I'm flattered."  
Roxas muttered something in reply.

He pulled out a black cloak, and tugged it over his head. It was too big for him; the throat was too low and pooled over his chest in fabric waves, as well as the bottom of the cloak – which lay in folds around his feet. Roxas looked down at himself in despair, and then back up at Axel, whose shoulders were shaking silently.

"What?" He asked impatiently. Axel waved a hand, tried to answer, and then burst into laughter. Roxas glared at him for a moment.

"It's not that funny…" he mumbled, but then a few seconds later, he was laughing too.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

From then on, it appeared to everyone else in the Organization that Axel and Roxas had become best friends. If you count 'best friends' as them playing pranks on each other any chance they got, and when they couldn't – they played pranks on everyone else.

After the fourth time of returning to his room to find his cloaks all dyed pink, Demyx decided to confront Axel about it while VIII was mixing himself a drink.

"It was Roxas." Axel replied lightly, stirring the liquid. "I was the one who died your pants green, he dyed the cloaks pink."

Demyx blinked. "You… You dyed my pants _green_?"

Axel grinned at him with slightly pointed teeth.

"No, but I'll get around to it eventually."

"Hey! Stay the hell out of my room! Why can't you prank someone else for once?"

Demyx whined, kicking the counter with frustration. Axel shrugged.

"Well, we put makeup on Xigbar while he was sleeping once. I don't really want the repeat performance of waking up with him hanging upside down over my bed with mascara smudged across his face and glaring at me with sparkly green eyes…" Axel winced as if the mere memory of it was frightening.

"Oh yeah, I remember Marluxia talking about that once, he seemed pretty pissed."

Demyx replied thoughtfully, as if forgetting all about the fact that his clothes were now a nice shade of hot pink.

"Where do you think we got the green eye shadow from? Marluxia's plants can be crushed **really** easily you know." Axel snickered quietly and drowned the remains of his drink, setting the empty glass next to a group of similar past concoctions of his.

"So where's that sidekick of yours?" Demyx sighed, half expecting XIII to come bursting out of a cupboard grinning and holding a custard tart with a sign saying 'SURPRISE' stuck on front. Said pie, would, of course, end up on Demyx's head.

"Dunno." Axel shrugged, and left the room – bored of the conversation. Demyx trailed after him.

"Really?"

"Yup."

"So, you don't care?"

"Nope."

"Are you gonna try and find out?"

"Demyx."

"Yeah?"

"Fuck off." Axel leisurely opened a portal, ignoring the blonde. Demyx made a whining sound, and hung his head. Axel ignored him and stepped through into the darkness, ending up in his bedroom.

"Do you ever actually use your own bed?" He asked as soon as he saw the dozing boy sprawled over his mattress. Roxas rolled over to face him and shrugged.

"You have nicer pillows." He replied, and turned his back on the red head – preparing to nod off to sleep again. Axel scowled. What was it, blondes-unite-to-piss-off-Axel-day?

Roxas gave a loud snore, and Axel glowered. Yes, it was.

--

"You're sheets smell weird." Roxas said as a greeting, after he had woken up and spent two hours trying to find where Axel had disappeared off to. He eventually found him at their 'favourite' meeting place, a small Island.

"No they don't." Axel folded his arms behind his head, the grass tickling his neck.

"Yeah they do, they smell like sweat, and smoke." Roxas wrinkled his nose and dropped onto the ground next to him. "It's gross."

Axel made a face. "But you still slept there?"

The blonde just shrugged.

"Like I said, nice pillows."

Axel snorted and stared at the paopu tree above them. The fruits were obnoxiously bright, but – hey – they tasted good. Axel already gone through two of them before Roxas arrived.

"Want one?" he asked the boy, pointing up at the tree. Roxas followed his finger.

"What are they?" he asked suspiciously.

"I dunno, just fruit. Paopu, I think. They're good."  
Roxas frowned. "Paopu, that sounds familiar. Isn't there a legend about them?"

Axel rolled his eyes. "Who cares? All that matters is that they taste nice." He shook the trunk behind him and one of the star-shaped fruits fell to the ground beside the two. Roxas picked it up and took a small bite. His expression brightened.

"It's juicy." He observed. "Kinda sour too, but in a good way."

He tore a chunk off and held it out for Axel.

"Here, this is the last fruit. You should have some too."

Axel took the piece and threw it into his mouth, chewing happily. They sat like that for a while, Roxas taking small bites out of it while handing mouthfuls to Axel. Little conversation was exchanged, and when it was, it was about nothing. Like the ocean, the Organization, and – god forbid – the weather.

When the last of the Paopu fruit was finished, Roxas copied Axel and folded his arms behind his head. He felt strange (Had the fruit gone off?), tingly and warm. But, smiling just a little so Axel couldn't see.

For some reason, it felt right.


	5. Chapter 5

"See, with Larxene, you don't wanna talk to her."

"Why not?" Roxas asked, as they strolled the streets of the World that Never Was. The fluorescent lights cast an unhealthy green glow on Axel's face, and made the Nobody look like some sort of ghost. The red head smirked at Roxas and ran a finger over his own throat.

"She'd try and rip your head off, that's why." He said, and kicked some water from a deep puddle over Roxas's legs. The blonde scowled at him.

"And number IX?" he prompted, taking the information in. Axel snorted.

"Demyx? He's a pushover. Not much of a fighter, but he can be tricky if you don't know what your doing."

Roxas nodded, and then tipped his head to look at Axel.

"What about you?" he asked. Axel paused, a strange – almost uncertain look on his face. Then the Cheshire cat grin was back, and he folded his arms, stopping to lean against a wall.

"Roxas, Roxas, _Roxas._" He said, with mock exaggeration. "You're not trying to predict me, are you?"

The shorter of the two paused for a moment, before stepping over to lean against the wall beside Axel.

"Can you predict yourself?" he countered, almost curiously. Axel was silent for a moment, digesting the question. It didn't take him long and soon he was grinning again. Pushing off the wall he turned to face Roxas and shrugged.

"Nope!" he said jovially. "You'd need a heart to do that!"

Roxas vaguely thought that Axel shouldn't smile when saying something like that.

--

Lexaeus accidentally punched Roxas in the face one day, while training. It really all came down to a matter of bad timing. Roxas had been stepping out of a dark portal when Lexaeus swung around and – bam. Goodnight Roxas.

After Axel stopped laughing, he took Roxas up to his room and set him up with a cold compress until he awoke.

"It's not _that _funny." Roxas protested sullenly, snatching the compress from VIII and sulking slightly. Axel's snickers died down and he wiped a non-existent tear from his eye. From that day on Lexaeus practiced in the safety of his bedroom. Safety for the rest of the organization members, that is. Though having Lexaeus in a confined space while training wasn't very safe either – his bedroom was reduced to ruin in a mere hour. A good half of Lexaeus' training now consisted of cleaning up the mess he created.

"It was worth waiting for you at the training arena to see that." Axel chuckled slightly, dropping his booted feet onto the frame of the bed. Roxas's eyebrow twitched slightly.

"You mean you knew I was going to appear there when Lexaeus was training?" he asked. Axel noticed that when he was about to get hit, Roxas's voice dropped just slightly to a softer tone. He moved his legs out of snapping range.

"Well, no." he admitted cautiously. "But I had a _hunch_."

"…"

"Now Roxas, growling like that isn't going to get either of us anywhere-"

"DIE."

--

"Do you have memories of your Somebody?" Roxas asked Axel quietly. The redhead stared at him, for once at a loss of words. It was some ungodly hour in the morning, after the moon had disappeared but before the sun had risen on _that_ island. He had been sleeping when a loud slamming at his balcony door woke him. Opening it, he was met with Roxas, soaking wet from the thundering rain outside, bedraggled and looking **lost**.

"Do you have memories of your Somebody?" he repeated, almost desperately.

"No." Axel replied, and stepped back so Roxas could come inside. When the teen made no move, Axel had to take his arm and forcefully pull him into the room.

"Why do I have memories?" Roxas asked him as Axel closed the balcony door.

"I don't know. Perhaps you saw something that reminded you of your Somebody?"

"I saw a drawing." Roxas said quietly, sitting down on the floor instead of the chair, so the water pooled beneath him. "At the island, there was a cave behind all these brambles. There were drawings on the walls. And I saw a boy. He smiled at me." Roxas stared distantly at the wall, and Axel frowned.

The boys sapphire eyes were confused.

"It was such a sad smile."

"It might not have been a memory, it could have been a real boy." Axel pointed out, pouring a drink. Roxas didn't answer.

"Roxas?"  
"It was a memory. He smiled at me." Roxas repeated. "And I think I smiled back."

Axel handed Roxas the drink, and the blonde frowned up at him.

"It's strange." He said, taking a sip. "He had such familiar blue eyes."

--

There was a time every year when Axel visited a world called Traverse Town. They held a celebration each year with fireworks in the middle of the night, and stalls and markets were threaded throughout the three districts.

Roxas followed him that year.

"What's so good about watching fireworks?" He asked, sitting next to Axel. The red head frowned and ignored him. They were perched on the railing of a Tavern balcony, staring up at the midnight sky where colours were exploding with loud bangs. People were crowded below, eating candyfloss or pointing up at the sky, others managing the stores and making balloon animals for children.

"I mean, it's not all that interesting. It gets repetitive and boring after a while-"

"Shut up and enjoy it." Axel muttered, cuffing the blonde over the head. Roxas grabbed at his arm and they both lost their balance on the rail, toppling over the edge and crashing onto one of the tables below.

A handful of people gave them amused looks, and some sighs of 'Young love' were heard. Or maybe it was 'Drunks'. Axel couldn't tell. His mouth was clogged with blonde hair and his ears were stuffed with cloak. Scrambling to his feet he straightened his jacket and tried to restore some of his dignity by smoothing back auburn spikes. Roxas struggled his way out of the mass of Table and chair legs. Getting to his feet he turned quickly to glare at Axel.

VIII blinked at him innocently.

"What?" he asked. "It was your fault."

"Was not!" Roxas protested, and lunged forward to hit Axel. The taller of the two stepped aside easily, and grabbed Roxas by his hood, lifting him up to eye level.

"Y'know…" Axel mused. "You're short."

Roxas stared at him for a moment, and then swung out again. This time the punch landed squarely on Axel's face, and the two fell back onto the table with a crash.

--

"You're right."

"Hm?"

"Fireworks. You're right. They're nice."

Axel looked at the blonde next to him. They were both lying on the roof of the accessory shop, arms folded behind their heads, watching colours exploding above their heads.

"What makes you say that?" he asked. "So suddenly?"

Roxas shrugged.

"I dunno." He admitted.

"It just reminds me of a different life."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Axel noticed that Roxas 'investigated' the other members of the Organization – in a way. Well, maybe 'investigated' isn't the right word, 'experimented' maybe. Axel noticed it once when he was **not** looking for Roxas but found him coincidentally after checking all their usual spots – but he **wasn't** looking for him – and saw the kid playing cards with Luxord.

Axel thought this was stupid. Really. He had told Roxas about Luxord before. Gambling was his **speciality**. It's what he did. It was… _Luxord. _Anyway, less than two days afterward, Roxas had – it appeared – challenged the earring-ed cheater to a game. Stupid.

At first the redhead just watched, leaning back into the shadows in silence and keeping his eyes on the cards in Roxas's hands, and the chips at the centre of the table. But the way that the boy's cerulean eyes kept slanting off to his position told him Roxas already knew he was there.

"Y'know," Axel said casually, sauntering over to where they were sitting. "That's a creepy gift you have there Roxas. Knowing I was here, and all that."

Roxas just rolled his eyes and turned back to the game. Luxord's eyes narrowed slightly at number VIII. Axel's reputation, of course, wasn't a very charitable one.

"Well look who we have here." Lux sneered. (Axel liked calling him Lux. It irritated the Gambler and Axel found it amusing.)

"I never thought a sneaky bugger like you would like Gambling."

Axel raised an eyebrow at him and smirked.  
"Well, **_Gambling_** is my favourite chapter in the **_Sneaky Bugger_** manual." He said lightly, and threw himself into an empty chair beside Roxas. Closing one eye and peering over the blonde's shoulder with the other, he grinned. The boy twitched.

Luxord noticed the interaction and his sneer widened. Somehow.

"Guess you 'aint as big as you talk, newbie." He taunted. Roxas's eyes lifted to face him and fanned his cards out on the table – face up. Luxord's eyes scanned them and one of his hands fiddled with an earring.

"He does that when he's worried." Axel whispered in Roxas's ear. The blonde flinched at the warm breath that ghosted across his cheek.

"Well," Luxord murmured. "You 'aint so bad!"

Roxas waited patiently.

"But not good enough just yet." The Gambler grinned and placed his cards out on the table. He had a winning hand.

Later, as Axel was walking (following?) Roxas down a hallway, he sighed dramatically. Roxas tried to walk faster, but since Axel's legs were longer than his, he easily kept up.

"It's a shame," Axel drawled.

"I'll win next time." Roxas promised. Axel grinned.

"Oh I wasn't talking about that." He said lightly. "I meant it was just a shame you didn't notice the cards stuffed down the sleeve of his coat!"

Roxas froze, and Axel winked down at him.

"So," he said. "Found what you need to know?"  
Roxas looked slowly up at him. Axel winked again, and ran.

--

"Axel? Hmmm, can't say I know much about the dude." Demyx pondered, running a hand through his Mohawk. "I mean, sure, I've _talked _to the guy, but only briefly." He pouted. "Most of our conversation was him telling me I was an idiot."

Roxas nodded his head in a 'yeah, that sounds like him' action, and kept silent.

"I mean, I saw him training once. And _man_. Axel… you don't wanna get on his bad side, Y'know?"

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked.

Demyx shrugged.

"He's a good fighter, not excellent, but good. But that's not quite it… It's just the _way _he fights, all sneaky and sly and planned but…" The musician paused. "I can't quite explain it…"  
"I understand." Roxas intervened, leaving Demyx and opening a portal.

"He fights like he has a heart."

--

"You know, I've always wondered what Love feels like." Roxas said, strolling a random Island road. Axel paused a length away from him, a despairing look of torture on his face. Roxas rolled his eyes, as if reading his thoughts.

"No, I'm not about to get angsty and ask to cry on your shoulder." He said, and Axel snickered.

"Actually, I was just worried that you'd start wearing dresses, crying in your sleep, and screaming out into the night about 'how could someone love a monster like me!?'"

Roxas stared at him.

Axel coughed.

"Larxene," he explained. "It was a nasty couple of weeks…"

Shaking his head, the boy started walking again.

"Whatever."

Axel followed, ruffling Roxas's hair.

"Love, huh?" he asked. He followed Roxas's gaze over to where a couple were walking on the beach in the distance. The boy had blonde hair and ocean blue eyes and he was laughing with a girl the same age. Her bi-coloured eyes were sparkling and she laughed, playing with her brunette hair. They were holding hands, their fingers intertwined.

Axel looked at Roxas's gaze. The boy had an almost longing expression on his face, and Axel sighed silently.

"Okay then," he said, with fake suffering. Roxas glared at him.

"_Okay then _what?"

He felt a gloved hand grab his, and Axel tugged him along down to the beach. The couple had disappeared into the waves, the girl laughing and applauding as the boy did a couple of tricks with a strangely shaped ball.

"What are you doing?" the boy demanded, grudgingly letting himself be dragged along.

"I'm showing you _love_." Axel replied sarcastically. "C'mon."

His hand felt strange, the leather gloves stretching across his palm and fingers as they joined with Roxas's own. The boy's hand seemed so small in his own.

"Where are we going?" Roxas demanded. Axel hummed something in reply, taking him through a portal.

The blonde realised they were at a familiar Island. A paopu tree swayed beside them in the breeze.

Roxas smiled.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

It was Axel who first kissed Roxas.

It had been Christmas, and Roxas visited a world where they constantly celebrated Halloween. He had been curious, to see why they were celebrating Christmas instead. The world was full of black and green, but for this day the inhabitants had decked it in reds and gold's.

Roxas stayed in the shadows. He watched as a rag-doll girl with auburn hair (A girl with auburn hair, it was familiar somehow.) ran across the courtyard, into the arms of a skeletal figure in a pinstripe suit.

She had leaned up (On tip-toes, he was abnormally tall.) and kissed him. Roxas stayed silent, until he noticed a presence at his shoulder.

"Huh." Axel said, as conversation, following his gaze. Roxas quickly glanced away from the couple and turned, preparing to open a portal. He noticed that Axel stayed behind.

"What are you waiting for?" the boy asked, halting with one foot at the lip of the portal. Axel shrugged, and pointed up at the sky.

"That." He replied. From the sky snow had begun to fall, and Axel lifted the hood of his coat to shelter his face. Roxas paused and pulled back, the portal retreating and disappearing into the wall.

"Its just snow." He said, raising an eyebrow. Axel shrugged.

"Maybe." Flakes came to rest on his cheeks and melted. Roxas stepped forward, hugging his cloak close to him to guard his body from the chill.

"Maybe? There's nothing _maybe _about it. It's just water, frozen, falling from the sky." Roxas glared up at the red head.

"Your acting weird." He accused, and froze when he felt an arm wrap around the small of his back and pull him closer. Axel leant forward silently and Roxas watched on with slow surprise as the taller of the two pressed his lips to the blondes.

It was slippery, and cold.

_Snow_. Roxas thought vaguely.

_I understand. Just maybe._

Just maybe it was the fact of knowing you couldn't feel the emotion.

But desperately wishing you could.

_­_--

When Roxas first met Namine, it had been completely by accident.

"What's it like to kiss someone?" She asked, peering into his face with luminous blue eyes. Roxas was silent at first, and she smiled sadly.

"I understand." She said softly. She was so pale and withdrawn, and Roxas felt sorry for her. Axel had told him about Namine, how she was kept away from most of the others, for purposes unknown. Roxas was unsure why she was even roaming the World That Never Was anyway.

"It feels strange." He said quietly.

Namine nodded. "I suppose it would." She said softly, and then took his hand.

"Thankyou for talking to me."

Roxas blinked at her and shrugged. "Uh, sure."

He watched her open a portal, but before she disappeared she ran back to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her head into his shoulder.

"What's that for?" he asked.

"I…" Namine smiled softly, whispered something in his ear, and ran back through the portal.

"I… I'm sorry, Sora-" 

She disappeared, and Roxas faintly heard Axel call his name, before everything went black.

All he remembered after that was the smell of the sea and the hazy image of a silver haired boy handing him a fruit.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

After being with the Organization for some time, Roxas realised there were some things you didn't do, some things you didn't talk about. He also discovered that there were some places you weren't allowed to go.

Roxas wasn't stupid, he knew, after leaving the area of the basement with a swollen cheek and a newborn suspicion, that there was something down there that Organization member XIII most certainly was not allowed to see.

It was an unfortunate fact that he had already seen it.

A beautiful egg, delicate, fragile, mysterious, and large enough – Roxas concluded – to hold something equally mysterious. He ended up thinking about it for the whole day, when usually trivial thoughts passed fleetingly through his head and then stored into a file of information.

Later, when Axel dropped unceremoniously into his room without knocking (Considering he slipped in through the balcony window), he found Roxas sitting on the floor of his bedroom, keyblade resting on his lap and staring at the opposite wall.

"What, do you have a grudge against armchairs or something?" Axel asked, tossing himself lazily into the said chair. Roxas didn't answer, apparently unaware to his presence. Axel frowned and tossed a cushion at him.

"Yo. Blondie."

Roxas caught the cushion with one hand; only looking at Axel until after the offending material was safely stowed away under his bed.

"What?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Don't do that _listless _shit with me," Axel snorted, standing up and dropping onto the bed beside where Roxas was sitting. "Something's on your mind."

XIII raised an eyebrow. "What's this, Axel, _The Flurry of Dancing Flames _is actually concerned?"

A mouth curled into a lazy smirk and one emerald eye winked down at him.

"I wouldn't say concerned," Axel replied. "Dutifully interested, more like."

"Well I'm sure the Superior and his lackeys will be grateful that you're respecting your civic… _duty_." Roxas snorted. "I, however, would prefer it if you took on the role of the civilian who 'saw nothing.'"

Axel's smirk dropped a notch.

"See… anything?" he prompted, if only a little unsettled.

"It's nothing." Roxas stood, tossing the Keyblade at a wall where it disappeared into obnoxiously bright sparkles. "I'm going for a walk."

He raised his hood.

"Watch out for Heartless, I hear they go after pretty young maidens like yourself."

The cushion slammed into the wall only seconds after Axel disappeared through it into the darkness.

--

"Are you sure nothing's going on?" Axel asked curiously, following Roxas down the dimly lit street. The blonde rolled his eyes and waved a hand for the elder of the two to leave. Axel naturally ignored him.

"Why do you need to know?" he asked with exasperation and Axel grinned at him, looping a long arm around his shoulder.

"Y'see Roxie. I have a reputation here, you know? I need to know things because I _like _knowing things. And usually when I know things I use them to my advantage." He winked. "Savvy?"

Roxas shrugged him off. "You want to know?" he asked. "You really do?"  
Axel grinned. "Sure thing cutie pie."  
He managed to dodge the first punch but Roxas' knee managed to hit its mark in between the taller of the two's legs.

"You know…" Axel grumbled, getting to his feet. "That didn't only hurt my pride."  
"I thought they _were _your pride. Or is it your hair? Should I die all your hair products pink then?"  
After a few minutes of glowering at each other, Roxas turned and continued walking, dispatching an unfortunate Heartless that had wandered across their path.

"The dreams are getting worse." He said quietly. "They even come at the daytime now. I'll be training with Lexaeus in the arena and suddenly I'd have a strange feeling…"

Axel listened to him silently, finished whimpering and guarding his respective manhood.

"I'd… I'd get really woozy. And suddenly I wasn't fighting with Lexaeus anymore; I would be fighting a huge muscled man with golden hair. And the other day I went swimming at the island, and when I turned around I suddenly imagined me with a tail, and I was swimming through the darkness of the depths with a beautiful girl with red hair… but it wasn't a girl. She had a green tail, and-"

He heard Axel start to snicker and huffed.

"Fine. Never mind then." He began to stride off, but Axel grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry, keep going."  
Roxas sighed and turned away.

"I…" he began, and stopped, faking a smile. "It's nothing."

Axel nudged him.

"Nah, go on. I like these stories of mermaids and heroes."

Roxas didn't answer for a long time.

"Roxas?"

"I…"

Roxas glanced once behind them into darkness and shuffled closer to Axel.

"I'm afraid of my own shadow."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Roxas, at least, wasn't wrapped up in his own problems to notice things that happened around him. He heard the whispers; saw Organization members casting strange looks down the corners they passed. Even Axel didn't randomly visit as much as he did, always 'away on a mission' or 'secret organization shit'. After the first three times of asking, Roxas realised he had begun to sound like some sort of lonely housewife.

He also noticed that some of the Organization members had begun to go missing. He realised that Vexen hadn't interrogated him for information on the keyblade for a while, and Larxene had stopped taunting him. There were no more rocking sounds from her room, either.

And through all this, Roxas knew it had to do with the mysterious egg in the basement area. Because, as Axel had strangely said one night – after three bottles of whiskey – a strange expression on his face –

'Everything is connected' 

Axel, as well. He had changed too. When Roxas had first confronted him about Vexen's disappearance he had flinched just slightly, and then grinned and winked. Just because that was what Axel would do, when he wanted to cover up what he was really thinking.

Roxas stepped in another puddle. It always seemed to be raining in the World That Never Was. It seemed that, to Roxas, everything was happening at once, and he was being shut out.

_Or maybe, _a voice that could have been his conscience said.

_Or maybe you're the centre of it all. _

--

"You shouldn't worry, Blondie. Your gonna be fine."

"Hn." Roxas stared at the ceiling, the smell of rain wafting through the open window into his room. The breeze rippled coolly over his neck, and he could see Axel's bright red hair rippling on the bed next to him. He glanced around his room, why had he never noticed before how _depressing _his room was?

Grey curtains, black carpet, black sheets, stonewalls –

Roxas shook his head as he realised that he shouldn't care what his room looked like, but his mind kept going back to it.

'I should have red bed covers' he thought 'and white carpet, or maybe brown. Blue curtains, too' Sitting up, he looked around his room with a strangely interested eye.

"I should have toys, too. A toy boat, or something electronic, they're big at the moment, I saw in them in Hollow-"

"What the hell are you talking about?"  
Roxas swivelled around, the sheets twisting around his hips. Axel stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Wha?"  
"You were talking about boats and toys and shit. Why?"

Roxas was silent for a long time, before he relaxed and lay back on the bed.

"I really don't know." He laughed, and felt Axel stiffen next to him. He knew why.

His laugh wasn't emotionless.

--

"WHY?"

His eyes were cerulean blue. No, wait, sea green. Or maybe both. Aqua? They were a mesmerising colour, like his platinum hair. It almost made Roxas sick with both confusion and recognition.

"Why do you have the keyblade!?"

KEYBLADE. 

"SHUT UP!" Roxas yelled, slashing Oathkeeper outwards. That wasn't right, he shouldn't know about the Keyblade. He shouldn't be asking why he had it, because it was _his. _He was _meant _to have it. He was -- _he _was the chosen Keyblade wielder.

"Just – JUST SHUT UP." He was near screaming now, and swung Oblivion forward into the darkness, towards Riku's face.

_RIKU._

_KEYBLADE._

JUST SHUT UP -- ! 

--

"No, Roxas-"

"Don't try and stop me."

He didn't want to turn around, because he knew that Axel would have _that _face, and he didn't want to have to pretend he cared. Because he _didn't. _He didn't want to pretend. He wanted to know, what it was really like to care. So maybe when he found his heart he could turn and tell Axel that he wasn't going to leave, and mean it, and mean the smile he'd put on his face.

"If you turn your back on the Organization they'll destroy you!"

Roxas knew that. He knew the stakes. He was willing to take that chance to discover something that was never lost but always missing. He took a moment to gather the strength to say what he was going to say next. Stopping in his stride, he focused on the puddles at his feet.

_It's always raining in a World That Doesn't Exist._

"No-one would miss me."

_Why is it always raining._

He kept walking, and pretended he couldn't hear Axel's half whispered words.

"That's not true."

_I just need to know why…_

"**I would."**

_Why my dreams are always of the sea._


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Axel attacked first, Roxas tried to reason. On his way through the basement in the 'haunted mansion' he had encountered his best friend. Axel had spoken, 'you really do remember me this time, I'm so flattered!' and Roxas had tried not to grin, because that was the Axel he remembered. The Axel he can't believe he had forgotten.

Axel attacked first, and Roxas drew Oblivion and Oathkeeper, jumping among the flames and dodging every single one because he _remembered _how Axel fought.

Because the first time they met, Roxas had been investigating the Organization members, and 'The Flurry of Dancing Flames' had been next on his list.

Strange, in that situation, Roxas knew that if he had a heart…

It would be breaking.

--

"Let's meet again… in the _next _life." Axel gasped, a weak grin on his face. Roxas nodded, stony faced, all the while thinking –

_Don't break, please don't break._

"Yeah." Roxas choked out, not able to continue. He saw Axel paused.

"Funny… all because _you _have a next life." The redhead snorted, trying to cover up that _oh god Roxas remembered._

He faded back into the portal, and from the darkness he watched with lonely eyes as Roxas continued his journey, through the corridor towards the shining egg with the hollow boy inside.

--

Roxas suddenly felt lonely.

He was looking at a hollow boy.

And knew it was himself.

--

Organization member XIII: Roxas. He used to fight with light, and wander in darkness.

Now he found himself consumed with it, and all he knew were soft voices talking somewhere that he could never find.

"Why do they keep calling me traitor?" Sora would ask himself quietly at times, when his teammates slept. Roxas didn't know if his other could hear him, but whenever Sora asked he would lean forward into the shadows and whisper softly.

"Because that's what you are."

--

When Sora was talking to different people, Roxas would jolt and an image of that person would flash quickly before his face.

The first time, he had almost cried because he realised that now he was _whole _ – he could.

When he saw Hayner, Pence, and Olette, at the train station, he had cried. He had cried because he had left them alone, left chances to be with _that stupid guy _alone, and, most importantly and shallowly…

He was alone.

When he first saw Axel, he screamed into the darkness and tore at his chest, where beneath the skin he could feel _a HEART beating_.

Because he realised now that beneath the skin was what he'd give up to be with him again.

--

Sora defeated Demyx, the 'Melodious Nocturne'.

Roxas had long since given up screaming and crying and tearing. His throat would never get sore and his tears would float away into the darkness, and his wounds would always heal.

When Sora defeated Demyx, Roxas stared blankly into the darkness, before closing his eyes and releasing a shaky breath –

Hoping to whatever was out there,

That Organization member No.VIII wasn't next.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven 

A soft tendril, touch, against his cheek. Roxas opened his eyes slowly. There were voices speaking, an echo in the darkness around him.

"That's nothing, watch _this_!"

He rushed to his feet, looking around wildly. There was a roaring sound, then sudden emptiness and Sora was talking to someone. Talking to _him_. He could hear VIII now, snickering quietly and making a stupid joke about hearts. That moron.

"I wanted to see Roxas."

The blonde's frenzied expression fell from his face.

"He was… the only one I liked."

Roxas released a breath. Quiet. It was quiet now. There was a sudden emptiness and he heard Sora gasp gently.

"He faded away." Roxas whispered.

--

"See, I told you we'd meet again."

"Yeah." Roxas smiled. It was good to be outside again – even if it was The World That Never Was and not the beach like he had hoped. Namine – or was it Kairi, now – stood in front of him, the same forced smile on her face that he knew must be on his.

"I guess we'll always stay together as long as Kairi and Sora are together."

"We will be," the redhead smiled brightly and turned to Roxas' Other. "Right, Sora?"

Roxas knew that he was the only one who felt the flash of uncertainty that ran through Sora, the sudden willingness to look back at Riku standing beside the ledge.

"Yeah." The brunette said finally.

Namine returned to Kairi, and Roxas stood in front of Sora for a moment. He wanted to say something. He wanted to say 'thankyou' or 'it's all your fault!'.

'I hate you!' or 'I am you!'

"Look sharp." He said glumly. Sora blinked and smiled. A sudden tugging feeling, a tingling along his arms, and he returned once more into the darkness.

--

There goes Xemnas. Roxas sighed. That's all of them. No more. Sora was beside Riku on the Dark Beach, and they were finally telling each other what they didn't have the change to during their journeys. They were going to return home, to the beach, to the light and the water and the sun and the Paopu fruit.

Roxas snorted. Paopu fruit. He guessed that stupid legend wasn't right after all.

The two boys were murmuring quietly in the back of Roxas' mind, gentle laughs, and half whispered confessions. Then the door, and Roxas was suddenly blinded with light. He saw Namine, but what thrilled him more was the white of sand and the large leaves swaying gently in the breeze. He grinned, and Namine grinned back.

_Time to go_, her face seemed to say.

_Yeah_, Roxas thought. _Time to go._

Darkness, once more. Roxas lay back gently and rested his head against the ground.

Silence rested over him but there was something else that wasn't there before. A comforting feeling, a feeling of something else being there, something to fall back on. Sora was there to listen, now that he understood why everyone had been calling him a traitor.

There were sudden footsteps behind Roxas. He sat up, whipped around, froze.

"Hi." He said quietly.

"Hi." Axel replied.


End file.
